The built-in graphics in Ryzen 9 7900X consume significant energy when idle.
The built-in graphics in Ryzen 9 7900X consume significant energy when idle.
You're excited about your new Ryzen 9 7900X! It's a big upgrade from the Athlon you had before. You're considering AMD for its strong Quicksync encoding with OBS, but you noticed it uses a lot of power when idle—around 30-40 watts. The recording feature seems to cause more fluctuations in usage. On the graph, it looks like the GPU stays around 30-50W regardless of what you're doing. That's unusual and might be worth investigating. There could be ways to optimize power usage if you're looking for better efficiency.
It’s possible to switch off one light fixture in the house, bringing its energy use back to normal. A single 50-watt bulb isn’t a big load—you’d need roughly 16 to 30 GPUs to power a small task like toasting bread.
I've got some points to think about. I'm in Hawai'i, where air conditioning isn't always used during the day since power bills are much higher there. That means even 50 watts can noticeably affect room temperature.
Well then, you could operate the machine during the night. That’s one possibility. We can’t control the temperature in Hawaii or the price of electricity. It’s a high-end CPU, so it will generate some heat eventually and won’t run perfectly without using power or producing warmth. So we’re not sure what the expected wattage will be.
I'm focusing on the built-in GPU rather than the processor. It consumes just 30-40 watts when not in use, which adds to the overall power draw of the CPU. Combined with the CPU's consumption, the total idle power usage reaches around 70 watts—this is quite high for modern devices in 2023.
Absolutely, it would be better to have just a reading on the wall instead of relying on the computer to guess the wattage.